storySouth news
8-01-05
Support hurricane relief efforts in the South!
As everyone knows, Hurricane Katrina has wreaked massive damage in the heart of the American South. Here are some reputable charities where you can donate money to support the relief effort:
There are also a number of other worthwhile charities who can help. Regardless of which charity you give to, just make sure you give.
6-20-05
2005 Washington Writing Prize for Short Fiction
Julia Thomas' short story "Worms," published in the summer 2004 issue of storySouth, won the 2005 Washington Writing Prize for Short Fiction. As the award states, "Thomas won the admiration of the judging committee for the straightforward way in which her story, "Worms," . . .dealt with the difficult subject of grief. Her character's confusion about how to make sense of her son's untimely death had the ring of truth." This was Julia's first fiction publication.
6-06-05
Summer workshops with Faith Adiele
Anyone in the Washington, D.C., or New York areas who is interested in studying nonfiction writing should consider one of these workshops with Faith Adiele. Faith is an amazing writing who has journeyed from Northwest farm girl to failed Ivy League student, from Unitarian to Thailand's first black Buddhist nun. She is the subject of an acclaimed documentary, My Journey Home (PBS, 2004) and is the author of Meeting Faith: The Forest Journals of a Black Buddhist Nun, which won the PEN Beyond Margins Award for Best Biography/Memoir. She teaches English at the University of Pittsburgh. storySouth editor Jason Sanford strongly recommends that if people can't attend the workshop that they at least check out Faith's book.
Workshop opportunities with Faith Adiele:
- Provisions Library Dharma & Diversity Series - June 10-12, 2005 Washington, DC. Journeys Out into the World & Down into the Self: A workshop about writing, traveling, investigating family history, & developing a political, artistic, or spiritual practice More: http://www.provisionslibrary.org/adiele.shtml. Begins with PUBLIC Screening of the documentary My Journey Home (PBS) and on Friday, June 10, 6:00-9:00 PM, 1611 Connecticut Avenue, NW.
- Chautauqua Writers Festival - June 16-19, 2005, Chautauqua, NY, Intensive Nonfiction Writing workshop with personalized attention. MORE: http://www.ciweb.org/offseason2004.html.
4-14-05
New Southern Literary Journal Seeking Submissions
Southern Hum, a new online southern literary journal, is seeking submissions for their first issue. In addition, their first annual fiction and poetry awards runs through July 1, 2005. One poem and one piece of fiction will be selected to each receive $250 and be published on the site. Winners will be announced on the site August 15. There is no submission fee at this time. More at http://www.southernhum.com/
3-25-05
storySouth editor at AWP
Jake Adam York, the poetry editor of storySouth, and Dan Albergotti, the associate poetry editor, will be taking part in a discussion on online literary journals at the Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference. Anyone going to the AWP should definately check this out.
Thursday, March 31
Hyatt Regency
Plaza B
2nd Floor
R611H.
Between Argument and Accident: Editing Independent Electronic Journals.
(Dan Albergotti, Adam Clay, Matthew Henriksen, Jake York, Zachary Schomburg) Five editors representing five independent electronic literary journals will discuss the difficulties of founding and editing journals when there is no shortage of journals and when the electronic journal is, though not new, still not altogether trusted. How do these editors solicit enough work to make an issue and work strong enough to build the project’s reputation, while still encouraging unsolicited submissions? How do these editors establish and maintain the identities of their journals?
1-11-05
NATJA Award Goes to Essay Published in storySouth
Stephen Ausherman's essay "The Road to Drumcree," published in the summer 2004 edition of storySouth, has placed as a runner-up in the "Best Travel Article Written for Internet" category of the 2004 North American Travel Journalists Association's (NATJA) awards. Stephen's book, Restless Tribes (published by Central Ave. Press, 2004), which contains the essay, was also a runner-up in the "Best Travel Book" category.
1-04-05
Million Writers Award launched.
This year's Million Writers Award is now underway. For more information, go to the award homepage.
1-04-05
storySouth Announces Pushcart Nominations
The following stories and poems from storySouth have been nominated for this year's Pushcart Prize:
• the poem “Watching Buzzards” by Cassie Sparkman (published in the summer 2004 issue of storySouth);
• the poem “Adagio” by Matt Henriksen (published in the fall 2004 issue of storySouth);
• the poem “ Interview With the Reader” by Janet McAdams (published in the spring 2004 issue of storySouth);
• the short story “Butterfly McQueen’s Oscar: A Lie” by Corey Mesler (published in the winter 2004 issue of storySouth);
• the short story “Green” by Sefi Atta (published in the spring 2004 issue of storySouth);
• the short story “Portrait of the Artist as an Old Drunk” by Christopher Orlet (published in the fall 2004 issue of storySouth).
The Pushcart Prize, Best of the Small Presses series has been published every year since 1976 and is the most honored literary project in America. Hundreds of presses and thousands of writers of short stories, poetry and essays have been represented in the pages of their annual collections.
10-28-04
Readers needed for Million Writers Award.
storySouth is looking for volunteer readers for its annual Million Writers Award. Each reader would be responsible for selected and nominating 10 stories that were published during 2004 in an online magazine. Interest in this year's Million Writers Award should be even greater than last year, especially since the award was selected as a Hot Site by USA Today and was the subject of a feature interview in the 2005 Novel and Short Stories Writers Market.
If you are interested in being a reader, please contact Jason Sanford at millionwriters@yahoo.com. State why you would be a great reader and include a link to one online short story (not written by yourself) that you enjoyed reading in the last year. Deadline for applications is December 15. Nominations for the award from volunteer readers will be due February 5, 2005.
And before anyone asks, individual readers will still be able to nominate one story for the award, and editors of online magazines will be able to nominate three stories from their publications. More information on the Million Writers Award will be released in early January, 2005.
9-26-04
Morehead New Writers Award.
Morehead State University and the Jesse Stuart Foundation (a small publisher) are sponsoring a new writers award in fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. The particular genre for the award will rotate in consecutive years. The award for 2005 will be for fiction manuscripts, including short story, novel or novella. The winning manuscript will be published by The Jesse Stuart Foundation, Inc., under its standard contract. The competition is open to all authors from the southern Appalachian region who have not previously published a book of fiction. Submit a typewritten double-spaced fiction manuscript of 75,000-100,000 words. A clean photocopy is recommended. Please do not send your only copy as manuscripts will not be returned. Manuscripts must be postmarked before December 1, 2004. All submissions must be accompanied by a $20 non-refundable entry fee. Please make your check payable to MSU Foundation, Inc. Submit two title pages for the manuscript. The author's name, address, and daytime phone number should appear on the first title page. The author's name should appear nowhere else on the manuscript. The second title page should contain only the title of the manuscript. Include an e-mail address or a self-addressed, stamped envelope if you wish to be notified of contest results. Please address entries to:
The Morehead New Writers Award
150 University Blvd.
UPO 630
Morehead State University
Morehead, KY 40351
Authors may submit one manuscript only. The winner will be announced in May of each year. No phone inquiries, please.
9-03-04
Abundant Light, a new short story collection from Valerie Miner, is now available from the Michigan State University Press.
8-14-04
After seeing the article about Guy Cobb's paintings in the current issue of storySouth, the director of the Walter Anderson Museum in Mississippi contacted the director of the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi, to pass the word about Guy's work. End result: a collection of Guy's paintings will be added to the Delta Blues Museum's permanent collection.
8-14-04
Wayne Lankford, president and publisher of Oak Valley Press, is looking for writings about Alabama biking experiences for an upcoming anthology. Contributors don't have to be from Alabama. For more, go to http://www.bikingalabama.com/
8-10-04
Interview with Jason Sanford on storySouth's Million Writer's Award
Jason Sanford, fiction and nonfiction editor of storySouth, is the subject of a feature interview in the 2005 Novel and Short Story Writer's Market. The interview covers such areas as the judging of the award, what makes for a great story, and how the online writing community is shaking up the literary world. You can read more of his comments about online fiction here.
7-27-04
NewPages, a web portal for news, information, and guides to the independent media (including bookstores, independent publishers, literary periodicals, and more) now includes online magazines in their coverage of the magazine world. Their first review of online magazines includes an excellent examination of storySouth's spring 2004 issue, with special notice given to the essays "Literary Minutiae at the Present Time" by Jim Booth and "The Threatened Ecology of a Southern Girl" by Emily Bowles.
7-27-04
Opening for Art Director at the Oxford American
The award-winning southern literary magazine The Oxford American is seeking a visionary Art Director to energize and transform the magazine's visual impact and direction. Requires ability to create designs that, whether sparkling or quiet, are utterly exceptional. Read more here.
7-15-04
Check out thicket, a new journal focusing on Alabama literature. thicket is a joint production of storySouth and the Alabama Center for Literary Arts. Kudos to storySouth editor Jake Adam York for starting this needed look at Alabama literature.
